When General Robert arrived, Lord Williams was waiting outside with his wife and children to welco him. After all, he was a man who controlled the soldiers and was more noble than him.
Moreover, the two did not really have any friendship.
"General Robert, welco to my ho," Lord Williams said politely, his aura noble.
"Lord Williams, I am honored to make your acquaintance," General Robert replied with a smile. This was his first ti visiting Lord Williams. After all, his area was in the second region, just close to the royal city, which ant he attended many of the royal balls. However, since they moved in different social circles, they had never really dealt with each other.
"This is my wife, Lady Amore," Lord Williams introduced his family before leading them into the hall. Once inside, they only exchanged a few pleasantries.
"Lord Williams should have guessed why I am here," General Robert got straight to the point. The king was anxious to find Anastasia, so he did not dare waste ti.
"Yes, if there is anything General Robert needs help with, you may tell , and I will do my best to assist," Lord Williams answered.
"Well, I need you to assign soone from your side who is trustworthy and understands the location better than we do," General Robert said. Although they had maps, a local guide would be more efficient and could gather information from the locals more easily.
"I will do anything to help. The Crown Princess is a mber of the royal family... we cannot allow the people of Gube to act as they please in our region," Lord Williams said firmly.
"With your help, I can rest assured," General Robert replied with a smile.
"General Robert, I also had my people from Wiwell Village look into sothing. It so happens that they encountered a lady claiming to be the daughter of Duke Thompson. I have an artist painting her likeness based on their description. I don’t know if this would be of any use to you?" Lord Williams said. Of course, if he could help, he was willing to do so. His contributions might earn recognition, but he also feared that the morning’s encounter might implicate him.
"Then I will wait to see the painting. I would also like to know what she was doing in the village at that ti," General Robert said. The previous report on the case had not ntioned Anastasia entering the village. Even if this woman was an imposter, it could be part of the Gube people’s plan to have soone impersonate the princess in public so that when they kidnapped her, they could move her without raising suspicion.
"I can tell you about the encounter, but I feel it would be better for you to hear it directly from the person involved," Lord Williams said.
"Then I will wait for the painting to be finished," General Robert agreed. The person involved was working with the painter now. There was no need to disturb them.
Hearing this, Lord Williams imdiately led him to the reception that had been prepared. Robert had no objections; since he had to wait, he did not refuse the invitation. Lord Williams led the way, and the two n dined together for about an hour before the painting was completed.
Since Steward Gray had always wanted to investigate Anastasia, he rembered many details about her appearance. Moreover, the artist was highly skilled and completed the drawing within a few hours.
"My Lord, the painting is finished," a trusted aide by Lord Williams’s side reported just as the two n finished dining.
"Bring in the painting," Lord Williams ordered. He had mixed feelings about the results. Although he had attended Anastasia’s wedding, he had only seen her once and wasn’t sure if he would recognize her from a painting based on descriptions.
"General Robert, have a look," Lord Williams said, collecting the paper but not looking at it before handing it over.
General Robert took the painting and examined it.
Although the portrait was not finely detailed, as a general, he was skilled at recognizing faces. Even though he had only t Anastasia a few tis, after carefully studying the painting, he could tell that it was indeed her.
"This is the Crown Princess. She is also Duke Thompson’s daughter," General Robert confird.
Lord Williams sighed. Though he had not wanted this to be true, he still felt satisfied that he could be of help.
"Send in Steward Gray. The general would like to ask so questions," Lord Williams ordered. He was an honest man who tried his best to help the people, even lending money to them under the guise of a rchant. He was not too worried about being implicated in this accident.
A few minutes later, Steward Gray walked in. He had already guessed that if he was summoned, the lady was most likely the Crown Princess. He broke out in a cold sweat but tried to remain calm.
He felt fortunate that he had been cautious and had not hard her. After all, his life alone might not be enough to atone for even touching the princess.
"Tell everything that happened when you t her," General Robert commanded.
Steward Gray took a deep breath and repeated what he had told Lord Williams. However, he still avoided ntioning the caravan. This ti, it was not out of fear that his lord would bla him for a mistake but because he rembered that Anastasia had warned him not to speak of it. Even though this general was searching for her, he dared not go against her warning. Besides, the princess had gone missing at sea; it had nothing to do with the caravan, so he felt there was no harm in keeping that part of the information to himself.
General Robert frowned. Though Steward Gray spoke smoothly, he could sense that he was not telling the whole truth. Sothing was off.
"Apart from buying the girl, did the princess make any other requests? Perhaps sothing unusual?" General Robert pressed. He had a hunch that the missing piece of the princess’s disappearance lay here.
"No," Steward Gray hesitated only for a mont before answering.
That brief pause did not escape General Robert’s notice. While others might think he was simply recalling details, Robert suspected that he was deciding whether to tell the truth.
"Are you sure?" General Robert’s voice turned cold, sending a shiver through everyone present.
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